Japan renews sanctions against North Korea

Japan has renewed unilateral economic sanctions against North Korea for another year over its rocket launch but stopped short of banning exports, BBC reports.

It did decide to tighten money flows, lowering the cap on remittances to the impoverished country.

North Korea says Sunday's launch put a satellite in orbit but Japan and others say it was a cover for a missile test.
Reports from New York suggest that the Security Council is deadlocked over how to respond to the launch.

Japan and the US are pushing for a resolution which would reinforce and possibly extend existing sanctions against North Korea, applied in the wake of the country's nuclear test in 2006.

But China and Russia have been more cautious, saying they are yet to be convinced Pyongyang broke any rules.

Japan's own sanctions against North Korea, in place since 2006, had been due to expire on Monday.

A cabinet meeting early on Friday decided to extend them for another year, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said.

The government had planned to impose a total ban on exports to North Korea but finally pulled back from the measure.

Discussing the lowering of the cap on remittances, Mr Kawamura said that Japan wanted to get a «clearer grasp of fund flows to North Korea».

Smaller money transfers to the communist state would in future have to be reported to the Japanese government, he added.

A meeting of the Security Council broke up without result on Thursday, Associated Press said.

The US favoured a council statement as the quickest way to punish North Korea, while Japan preferred a full resolution which would name companies believed to be helping Pyongyang with its missile tests.